MANILA – The number of unemployed Filipinos stood at 2.8 million in October amid better economic gains in the first nine months of the year.

The preliminary results of the National Statistics Office’s (NSO) Labor Force Survey showed that the unemployment rate of 7.1 percent last October was unchanged from a year ago.

Employment rate, on the other hand, was tallied at 92.9 percent.

Out of the estimated 61.2 million population of 15 years old and over in October 2010, the NSO said around 39.3 million persons were reported to be in the labor force.

The figures placed the labor force participation rate (LFPR) in October 2010 at 64.2 percent as compared to last year's 64 percent.

Across regions, National Capital Region recorded the highest unemployment rate in October at 12.6 percent, while Cagayan Valley reported the lowest unemployment rate of 2.6 percent.

The largest employed workforce in the services sector were in wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles, motorcycles and personal and household goods, numbering 7.2 million or 19.6 percent of total employed. (Virgil Lopez/Sunnex)